The Art of Nonfiction: Its Theory and Practice Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Art of Nonfiction: Its Theory and Practice Book

In The Art of Nonfiction, Ayn Rand spends six pages explaining why something she wrote about the launching of Apollo II is far superior to something Loudon Wainwright wrote about it; throughout the book, she uses her own work as examples of exemplary writing. Somehow, though, Rand's robust ego is less unbearable here than it is in, say, her Art of Fiction. This book is a frank demystification of the writing process that originated as a series of lectures given in 1969 to friends and other potential contributors to Rand's magazine, The Objectivist. "Any person who can speak English grammatically can learn to write nonfiction," Rand declares. All you need "is what you need for life in general: an orderly method of thinking." Rand values clarity above all else in nonfiction writing, and it is her own clearheadedness that makes this book appealing. Within these pages, Rand discusses subject and theme, audience, philosophy, outlines, writing, and editing. She takes swipes at The New Yorker for its "'brilliant' essays that say nothing," and at William Buckley, whose "trademark is to use words he probably spends half his time looking up in the dictionary." She rails against disruptions ("When I was writing Atlas Shrugged, I accepted neither day nor evening appointments, with rare exceptions, for roughly thirteen years"). And she is an exacting taskmaster who demands that you not choose a lesser aspect of a subject than "the deepest one that interests you and that you can do." Finally, says Rand, you must write from a position of complete confidence and omnipotence. "While you are writing," she says, "you must be God's perfect creature (if there were a God)." --Jane Steinberg Read More

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  • Product Description

    A remarkable series of lectures on the art of creating effective nonfiction by one of the 20th century's most profound writers and thinkers-now available for the first time in print.

    Culled from sixteen informal lectures Ayn Rand delivered to a select audience in the late 1960s, this remarkable work offers indispensable guidance to the aspiring writer of nonfiction while providing readers with a fascinating discourse on art and creation. Based on the concept that the ability to create quality nonfiction is a skill that can be learned like any other, The Art of Nonfiction takes readers through the writing process, step-by-step, providing insightful observations and invaluable techniques along the way.

    In these edited transcripts, Rand discusses the psychological aspects of writing, and the different roles played by the conscious and subconscious mind. From choosing a subject to polishing a draft to mastering an individual writing style-for authors of theoretical works or those leaning toward journalistic reporting-this crucial resource introduces the words and ideas of one of our most enduring authors to a new generation.

  • 0452282314
  • 9780452282315
  • Ayn Rand, Robert Mayhew
  • 1 February 2001
  • G P Putnam's Sons
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 208
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